Posted 17th October 2011 by Paul
Watch HD and Dave HD have launched on Sky and Virgin Media.
If you’re an HD customer, Dave HD is available on Sky channel 111 and Virgin Media channel 129, and Watch HD is available on Sky channel 109 and Virgin Media channel 125.
Also, Eden HD and Good Food HD were both added to Virgin Media’s channel lineup on the 7th October.
Eden HD is available on channel 209 and Good Food HD is available on channel 249.
This is the first time Eden HD and Good Food HD have been available outside of Sky’s platform, where they exclusively launched a year ago.
Due to the recent channel launches on Virgin Media’s TV platform, some channels have changed their numbers:
125 – Watch HD
129 – Dave HD
190 – Watch +1
191 – Dave Ja Vu
204 – Yesterday +1
209 – Eden HD
210 – Eden +1
261 – Good Food HD
262 – Good Food +1
Tags: Cable (Virgin Media), dave, dave hd, eden, eden hd, good food, good food hd, hd, Satellite (Sky Digital), uktv, watch, watch hd
Posted 15th August 2011 by Paul
Virgin Media has sold its stake in UKTV to Scripps Networks Interactive. The deal, worth £339m, sees Scripps Networks Interactive take Virgin Media’s 50% stake in UKTV.
Scripps Networks Interactive already own other channels such as Food Network which recently made its Freeview debut.
The other 50% share of UKTV is still owned by BBC Worldwide – the BBC’s commercial arm.
Kenneth W. Lowe, chairman of Scripps Networks Interactive, says “making a solid investment in UKTV and entering into a strong partnership with BBC Worldwide reinforces our core international strategy which we believe will create significant long-term value for our shareholders”.
It was originally thought Discovery would get the UKTV stake, but Scripps pipped them to the post.
What will this change mean for the UKTV channels? Will we see more UKTV channels on Freeview? Will certain channels close such as Good Food which has the same remit as Scripps’s own Food Network channel?
Tags: Cable (Virgin Media), hd, Satellite (Sky Digital), Terrestrial (Freeview and Top Up TV), uktv
Posted 3rd August 2011 by Paul
UKTV will be launching three new HD channels on Sky in the coming months.
Watch HD and Dave HD are due to be launched in October this year and Alibi HD will be available some time next year.
The new HD channels will join UKTV’s existing high definition offerings Eden HD and Good Food HD on Sky.
In addition to the new HD channels, UKTV have also announced a selection of their programme catalogue will be made available on demand for the first time as part of Sky’s Anytime+ service (available to Sky broadband customers through their set top box).
On demand content will start appearing on Sky Anytime+ this September.
The official UKTV press release says:
“Initially launching with hundreds of hours of programming throughout the year cherry picked from across its network, UKTV’s VoD service which will be refreshed on a monthly basis and nine box sets will be made available to Sky Anytime+ viewers every year. UKTV’s service will offer crown jewels from the BBC archive, well regarded third party acquisitions and high-profile UKTV commissions, such as: Fawlty Towers and Fry and Laurie: Reunited on Gold; Doctor Who and Total Wipeout USA on Watch; New Tricks and Murdoch Mysteries on Alibi; Top Gear and Argumental on Dave; Planet Earth and The Long Way Round on Eden; Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and My Flat Pack Home on Home; and Rick Stein’s French Odyssey and Rachel Allen: Bake! on Good Food”. Click here to read UKTV’s press release in full.
Tags: dave, dave hd, hd, Satellite (Sky Digital), sky anytime, uktv, watch, watch hd
Posted 15th June 2011 by Paul
UKTV-owned lifestyle channel Really will make its Freeview debut on the 2nd August.
The channel – currently only available on Sky and Virgin Media – will be on Freeview channel 20 between 8am GMT and 2am GMT daily.
Really will replace Dave timeshift channel Dave Ja Vu on Freeview.
Dave Ja Vu will continue to broadcast as normal on other TV platforms.
Tags: Dave Ja Vu, really, Terrestrial (Freeview and Top Up TV), uktv
Posted 23rd June 2009 by Paul
UKTV Food has been rebranded as Good Food. Good Food is available on Virgin Media channel 260 (Good Food +1 is on channel 261) and Sky. UKTV Food was the last channel to be rebranded in the UKTV package.
Tags: Cable (Virgin Media), good food, uktv, uktv food
Posted 19th May 2009 by Paul
UKTV Gardens has rebranded today to become Really. Really can be found on Virgin Media channel 267 and Sky channel 248. Gardening content that used to appear on UKTV Gardens before it was rebranded will shift across to Home (formerly UKTV Style). The only remaining UKTV-prefixed channel to be rebranded is UKTV Food, which will change its name to Good Food on Monday 22nd June.
Click here for the official Really website.
Tags: Cable (Virgin Media), really, uktv, uktv gardens
Posted 14th May 2009 by Paul
The final UKTV channel to be rebranded is UKTV Food. It’s been confirmed the new name for the channel will be Good Food. UKTV have struck a deal with BBC Worldwide to license the brand from them for the Good Food channel name.
UKTV say, in an official press release, “negotiated directly between the broadcaster and BBC Worldwide, this agreement permits UKTV to rebrand its dedicated UKTV Food channel and associated website while also adopting the new channel brand for all related commercial and promotional activities. UKTV’s new lifestyle channel, Good Food, will launch at 9am on Monday 22nd June alongside a complementary website”.
The tagline for the new channel will be “we have fun with food” and will have “80% of its schedule made up of brand new commissions and exclusive acquisitions”.
Matthew Littleford (UKTV’s controller) says “we are thrilled to mark our tenth and final channel rebrand with a completely different approach: licensing an established brand name that has both heritage and credibility associated with it”.
Good Food logo
Tags: Cable (Virgin Media), good food, uktv, uktv food
